CLASSIC ROCK TRACKS POLL: THE RESULTS

Dug up my ballot from e-mail. 1) I can't believe I turned in a ballot of 100 songs--my ballots are almost always half the limit allowed at best. 2) "All Right Now" wasn't one of my 100, which surprised me a little.

I don't listen to classic rock radio much, and I don't think they play "All Right Now" all that often, but that would be infinitely preferable to another helping of Guns N Roses.

classic rock hits aren't supposed to be pop hits! "free bird" topped out at #19. "crazy on you" at #35. "runnin' with the devil" at #84. "american girl" didn't chart at all. "stairway to heaven" and "baba o'riley" weren't singles. classic rock radio rolls with the changes, not the charts!

That’s just it: WLS was a top 40 station, not a “classic rock” station (which also accounts for the fact that it took until 1986 or ‘87 for “Stairway” to top its annual Top 500 list). I never heard “Baba O’Riley” on WLS, not even during the Who-saturated autumn of 1982, during their “Farewell” tour.

“Farewell (and good riddance)”

I was just reminiscing with one of my kids about AOR in the 70s. Denver had two very good stations, KBPI and KAZY. They had actual local DJs who had, or seemed to have, a fair amount of control over or at least input on what got played. Sure, you'd hear "All Right Now," but you'd also get "Silver, Blue & Gold" or "Wishing Well" or even an entire side of Burning Sky. Also, they took actual requests.

We were laughing about this because of the state of "classic rock" radio now. The stations are all standardized, even the names. In Atlanta, and half a dozen other places, it's "The River." In Denver, it's "The Mountain." Who even listens to these now?

In Portland, Maine, their “classic rock” station is “The Blimp.” I asked a friend who lives there, “So, do they play Captain Beef-“ “YES! ALL THE FUCKING TIME! THEY JUST PLAY THE ‘THE BLIMP! THE BLIMP!’ PART BUT NEVER AN ACTUAL BEEFHEART SONG!”